Ep. 317 | The History of Taiwan (Part 8)
This Part 8 episode of the History of Taiwan series runs a little longer than usual. About 50 minutes. This time we'll look at the period immediately following the handover of sovereignty in 1945. Needless to say, things didn't go so smoothly and the tone was set for the next several decades on Taiwan. The smash-and-grab events following Retrocession and the infamous 228 Incident are discussed in this episode. It's going to be a long hard slog from here on out. Wishing you all a great rest of the year and a Fab 2023.
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Terms in Episode
Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
---|---|---|
Chén Yí | 陈仪 / 陳儀 | 1883-1950, was the chief executive and garrison commander of Taiwan Province after Japan surrendered. He acted on behalf of the Allied Powers to accept the Japanese Instrument of Surrender in Taipei Zhongshan Hall on October 25, 1945. He is considered to have mismanaged the tension between the Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese |
Ando Rikichi | 安藤 利吉 | 1884-1946, was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and 19th and final Japanese Governor-General of Taiwan from 30 December 1944 to October 1945. |
Shī Láng | 施琅 | Although he was best known in the West for his generally pro-modern stance and importance as a negotiator, |
Kāngxī | 康熙帝 | The third Qing Emperor. He reigned 1661-1722 |
Zhèng Chénggōng | 郑成功 | Born Tagawa Fukumatsu and Zhang Sen, Also known as Koxinga 国姓爷 Lord of the Royal Surname. He known in popular Chinese history as Zheng Chenggong (actual name was Zhu Chenggong (the royal Ming Zhu 朱. He lived 1624-1662, and is remembered as a Ming loyalist general who founded the Dongning Kingdom that lasted 1661-1683 |
Qīng Dynasty | 清朝 | Last imperial dynasty of China 1644-1912 |
Kōminka Movement | 皇民化运动 | The Kōminka Movement, "Kōminka" literally means "to make people subjects of the emperor". There were three components. First, the "national language movement," Second, the "name changing program" Third was the "volunteers' system" drafted Taiwanese subjects into the Imperial Japanese Army and encouraged them to die in the service of the emperor |
Hokkien | 福建 | In the Minnan dialect, the people, language and culture of southern Fujian |
Hakka | 客家 | A Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhejiang, Hainan, Guizhou in China, as well as in parts of Taiwan. Unlike other Han Chinese subgroups, the Hakkas are not named after a geographical region in China. The word Hakka or "guest families" is Cantonese in origin and originally refers to the Northern Chinese refugees fleeing social unrest, upheaval and invasions in northern parts of China who migrated to the south. |
Běnshěngrén | 本省人 | In Taiwan these are the people born and raised in Taiwan and who lived there prior to the Chinese Civil War |
Wàishěngrén | 外省人 | A name ascribed to the Chinese who migrated to Taiwan as a result of the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949 |
Taihoku | 台北 | See below "Taipei" |
Fújiàn | 福建 | Coastal provincce in southern China, south of Zhejiang |
Sòng Měilíng | 宋美龄 | 1898-2003, major figure in early ROC history. Wife of Chiang Kai-shek, sister to Song Ailing and Song Qingling. |
Dài Lì | 戴笠 | 1897-1946, loyal supporter to Chiang Kai-shek who served as his secret police chief. |
Zhōnghuá Mínguó | 中华民国 | The Republic of China |
Lǐ Dēnghuī | 李登辉 | 1923-2020, Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as President of the ROC under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the KMT from 1988 to 2000. He was the first president to be born in Taiwan, the last to be indirectly elected and the first to be directly elected. During his presidency, Lee oversaw the end of martial law and the full democratization of the ROC, advocated the Taiwanese localization movement, and led an ambitious foreign policy to gain allies around the world. Nicknamed "Mr. Democracy", Lee was credited as the president who completed Taiwan's transition to the democratic era. |
Èr Èr Bā Shìjiàn | 二二八事件 | The 228 Incident of Febnruary 28, 1947 |
Lín Jiāngmài | 林江迈 | The woman who was murdered by Taiwan Monopoly Bureau officers on February 27, 1947. Her violent death sparked protests that led to the 228 Incident and the Wite Terror that followed |
Jīlóng | 基隆 | Officially known as Keelung City. It's a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Taipei City and Taipei. |
Gāoxióng | 高雄 | Called Takao duirng the Japan coloinial period, Taiwan's largest city in the south. Also a major port. |
Dànshuǐ | 淡水 | A seaside district in New Taipei, Taiwan. It is named after the Tamsui River; the name means "fresh water". |
Píngdōng | 屏东 | A county and a city in southern Taiwan, east of Gaoxiong |
Taipei | 台北 | Called Taihoku City in Japanese, Taipei is located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about 25 km (16 mi) southwest of the northern port city of Keelung. Most of the city rests on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed. The basin is bounded by the relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border |
Táinán | 台南 | Located on the southwest coast of Taiwan, this is where the earliest recorded history began with the arrival of the Dutch in 1624. Tainan was where the Dutch built Fort Provintia and Fort Zeelandia |
Míng | 明朝 | The Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 |
Qīng | 清朝 | Last imperial dynasty of China 1644-1912 |
Taipei (Taihoku) | 台北 | Called Taihoku City in Japanese, Taipei is located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about 25 km (16 mi) southwest of the northern port city of Keelung. Most of the city rests on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed. The basin is bounded by the relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border |
Běitóu | 北投 | The northernmost of the twelve districts of Taipei City, Taiwan, famous for its hot springs |
Dàdàochéng | 大稻城 | It was also known as Twatutia (a transliteration of the Taiwanese Hokkien Tōa-tiū-tiâⁿ),Daitōtei during Japanese rule, and Tataocheng during the Kuomintang era. Dadaocheng was an important trading port in the 19th century, and is still a major historical tourist attraction and shopping area. The district is known for the local Taiwanese cuisine |
Emperor Hirohito | 昭和天皇 | 1901-1989, Emperor Showa, commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name Hirohito (裕仁). The 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989 |
Nakagawa Kenzō | 中川健藏 | 1875-1944, Japanese bureaucrat and political figure. Served as governor general of Taiwan 1932-1936 |
1935 Shinchiku-Taichū Earthquake | This quake occurred with a Richter magnitude of 7.1 (7.0 Mw) in April 1935 with its epicenter in Taizhong, Taiwan (Shinchiku Prefecture). It was the deadliest earthquake in Taiwan's recorded history, claiming 3,276 lives and causing extensive damage. Twelve seconds after the mainshock, an aftershock of ML 6.0 occurred, centered on Gabi Village (present-day Emei Township, Hsinchu County). | |
Táizhōng | 台中 | City on the west coast of Taiwan that also served as the provincial capital |
Xīnzhú (Taichū) | 新竹 | City on the northwest coast of Taiwan |
Éméi Township | 峨眉乡 | A rural township in Hsinchu |
huángmínhuà | 皇民化 | The Kōminka Movement, "Kōminka" literally means "to make people subjects of the emperor". There were three components. First, the "national language movement," Second, the "name changing program" Third was the "volunteers' system" drafted Taiwanese subjects into the Imperial Japanese Army and encouraged them to die in the service of the emperor |
Hokkien | 福建 | In the Minnan dialect, the people, language and culture of southern Fujian |
Hakka | 客家 | A Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhejiang, Hainan, Guizhou in China, as well as in parts of Taiwan. Unlike other Han Chinese subgroups, the Hakkas are not named after a geographical region in China. The word Hakka or "guest families" is Cantonese in origin and originally refers to the Northern Chinese refugees fleeing social unrest, upheaval and invasions in northern parts of China who migrated to the south. |
Kobayashi Seizō | 小林 躋造 | 1877-1962, was a Japanese naval commander, commander of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (1931–1933) and the 17th Governor-General of Taiwan (1936–1940) |
Kamidana | 神棚 | These were little mini-Shinto alters placed in a person's home |
Kokugo | 国语 | the national Japanese language (Guóyǔ in Chinese) |
Kaiseimei | 改姓名 | (Gǎixìngmíng) officially replacing one’s Chinese name with a Japanese name |
Gāoshā Yìyǒngduì | 高砂义勇队 | The Takasago Volunteers |
Jīlóng | 基隆 | Officially known as Keelung City. It's a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Taipei City and Taipei. |
Ruìfāng District | 瑞芳区 | suburban district in eastern New Taipei City, Taiwan |
Jīnguāshí | 金瓜石 | Kinkaseki POW Camp |
Gāoxióng | 高雄 | The city of Kaohsiung on the southwest coast of Taiwan |
Yílán | 宜兰县 | A county in northeastern Taiwan, just southeast of Taipei |
Zhōngshān Hall | 中山堂 | a historical building which originally functioned as the Taipei (Taihoku) City Public Auditorium. It is located at 98 Yanping South Road in the Ximending neighborhood of Zhongzheng District, Taipei |
Ando Rikichi | 安藤 利吉 | 1884-1946, was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and 19th and final Japanese Governor-General of Taiwan from 30 December 1944 to October 1945. |
Haiphong | 海防 | a major industrial city in Vietnam. Hai Phong is also the center of technology, economy, culture, medicine, education, science and trade in the Red River delta. |
Chén Yí | 陈仪 / 陳儀 | 1883-1950, was the chief executive and garrison commander of Taiwan Province after Japan surrendered. He acted on behalf of the Allied Powers to accept the Japanese Instrument of Surrender in Taipei Zhongshan Hall on October 25, 1945. He is considered to have mismanaged the tension between the Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese |
Zhèjiāng | 浙江 | A coastal province in Eastern China, south of Jiangsu and north of Fujian |
Fujian | 福建 | A coastal province in Eastern China, south of Zhejiang and east of Guangdong |
Táiwān Dìwèi Wèidìng Lùn | 台湾地位未定论 | the Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan |
Nánshā Islands | 南沙群島 | The Spratly Island Chain in the South China Sea |
Xīshā Islands | 西沙群岛 | The Paracel Island Chain in the South China Sea |
Pénghú | 澎湖 | Also popularly known as the Pescadores Islands. This is an archipeligo of 90 islands in the Taiwan Strait covering an area of 141 square km. The largest city is Magong |
Xiàmén | 厦门 | Major city in southern Fujian, also known as Amoy |
Zhāngzhōu | 漳州 | City on the southern coast of Fujian |
Quánzhōu | 泉州 | City in southern Fujian adjacent to Xiamen |
Méi County | 梅县 | Méi County in Eastern Guangdong. The center of Hakka Culture in China |
Guǎngdōng | 广东 | Province in southern China |
Shàoxīng | 绍兴 | City in Zhejiang Province |
Although all kinds of tension brewed beneath the surface, the mid to late 19th Century saw a continued bonanza for Singapore.